Kendrapara Rasabali:-What makes this Odia sweet so Unique
What is Kendrapara Rasabali:-
Kendrapara Rasabali is a Traditional sweet item originated in the temple town of Kendrapara located in the coastal region of Odisha state of India. Rasabali is basically a deep fried chenna/cheese patties which is soaked in Rabri (sweetened thick flavor milk) flavor with cardamom. This sweet is offered daily as a prasad to the diety of Baldevjew Temple at Kendrapara district of Odisha as well as it is one of the 56 Bhog of Lord Jaggarnath in the Jaggarnath Temple of Odisha.
- This sweet is also celebrated during festivals like Rath Yatra, Janmashtami & Akshaya Tritiya symbolizing devotion, purity and propsperity.
- Kendrapara Rasabali recently received a Geographical Indication Tag(GI Tag) on 3rd October 2023 due to its unique origin and Traditional preparation method.
https://www.nabard.org/gi/GIProductDetails.aspx?Id=62
Characteristic of Kendrapara Rasabali
- Kednrapara Rasabali is a historical & delicious food of Odisha which has been mentioned by several renewned historians, researcher and travellers. It has originated around 400 years back by the pandas of Baldevjew temple (trained traditional person engaged solely for dieties) to offer as Sandhya Bhog/Evening prasad to Lord Baldevjew.
- This unique odia sweet is characterized by its prime ingredients & its preparation method. The prime ingredient of Chhena ( fresh cheese) & sugar, which is often mixed with small amount of semolina or flour as a binding agent and then kneaded into a soft dough to form into a small size patties and then deep fried in desi ghee untill it gets a golden brown color. It is then soaked in Rabri or flavored thicken milk.
- The fried Rasabali is very soft , spongy and slightly crisp from the outside. The frying process gives Rasabali its unique caramelized flavor and color.
- Flavor :– The Kendrapara Rasabali is flavor with green cardamom, giving a rich and aromatic sweetness.
- Garnish:– It is often garnish with Nuts like almond/Pistachio and sometimes saffron is also added to enhance its color.
- Uniquiness:- One of the unique characteristic & identity of Kendrapara Rasabali is making hole in the centre of Rasabali, which help to soak the Rabri properly.
- Cultural importance:- For the past more than two centuries, this sweet is being offered daily as a prasad to the diety of Baldevjew Temple at Kendrapara district of Odisha as well as it is one of the 56 Bhog of Lord Jaggarnath in the Jaggarnath Temple of Odisha. It is also popular during Rath Yatra and Janmashtami festivals.
Brief Histroy of Kendrapara Rasabali
According to the Historical Texts such as Dandi Ramayan & Ganga Vanshanucharita, this Traditional Odia sweet”Rasabali” used to offered daily at the Sree Baladevjew Temple in Kendrapara Ichhapur to the deity Baladevjew. Its origin can be traced back to the very old Sree Baladevjew Temple which was built in 1761 during the Maratha Rule in Odisha by Raja Gopal Sandha of Kujanga & Srinivas Narendra Mahapatra (Zamindar of Chhedara killah) where it was first offered as a part of Chhapan Bhog to the presiding diety.
- It holds a deep spiritual ties to odia temple tradition as it is one of the part of 56 Bhog prasad offered to Lord Jagannath Temple & his siblings at Puri Jagannath Temple to symbolize devotion and festivity. During the Rath Yatra, Kendrapara Rasabali is also offered as Prasad to devoties.
- During the pre-modern era , it gained the popularity as a festive treat in kendrapara district of Odisha. By the 20th Century, it became the staple food among local eateries during celebration/festivals.
Geographical Indication tagging to Kendrapara Rasabali
The Geographical Indication tagging was granted to Kendrapara Rasabali on 3rd October 2023 by the GI Registry Chennai . This recoganization officially restrict the use of the name ” Kendrapara Rasabali” to the sweet producted exclusively within Kendrapara District of odisha to ensure its authenticity.
- The GI Application was filled by Kendrapara Rasabali Mistanne Nirmata Sangha at Bhagabanpur district kendrapara,Odisha & Rural Infrstructure development and Employment with the support of State Govt. Its application number is 802 falling in class 29.
Content Reference:-
The above content has been compiled after referring Intellectual property india website, odisha govt website, local & national online news portal, various social media plateform, Tourism portal of odisha, culinary books, Research Papers, Research articles, Food magazines, news papers etc. The picture which i have used has been taken from the open source website . The main purpose of my food blog is to provide basic awareness abount GI Tag foods of India to hotel management students/chefs/hoteliers/etc. The following website i have reffered for my blog are as under:-
- https://www.search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublic/Application/Details/802
- https://www.nabard.org/gi/GIProductDetails.aspx?Id=62
- https://www.irjmets.com/uploadedfiles/paper//issue_12_december_2023/47027/final/fin_irjmets1702109137.pdf
- https://www.anitaexplorer.com/2023/09/kendrapara-rasabali-gi-tag.html
- https://kendrapara.odisha.gov.in/
- https://odishatourism.gov.in/content/tourism/en.html
- https://dot.odisha.gov.in/
- https://www.sribaladevjewkendrapara.org/
- https://kendrapara.odisha.gov.in/tourism/tourist-places/shri-baldev-jew
- https://www.rasabali.in/product/rasabali-sweet-odisha/?srsltid=AfmBOoom893v6ObUmpWNrsqXQSwAOpeC7JlsNhLXPvh-J74FaWwiVrC3
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